(08 Jul 2009)
A first-of-its kind analysis of the sentences imposed by Judge Sonia Sotomayor during her six years as a federal trial judge shows that she was more likely than her colleagues to send a person to prison, particularly those convicted as white collar criminals. Read this new TRAC report at

The new findings about President Obama's Supreme Court nominee are based on an examination by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) of the records concerning more than 7,000 cases handled by the 52 federal judges who served in the Southern District of New York (Manhattan) from FY 1993 to FY 1998.
TRAC obtained the case-by-case data from the Justice Department under the Freedom of Information Act.

Legal scholars, reporters, women's rights group, gun rights advocates and others have subjected Judge Sotomayor's formal and informal statements and her decisions as a court of appeals judge to extensive review. But her activities as a trial court judge have not previously been systematically examined.

TRAC is self-supporting and depends on foundation grants, individual contributions and subscription fees for the funding needed to obtain, analyze and publish the data we collect on the activities of the US Federal government. To help support TRAC's ongoing efforts, go to: